1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to lacrosse and, more particularly, to an improved head for a lacrosse stick adapted for improved playing characteristics.
2. Description of the Background
In 1970, the introduction of double-wall, synthetic lacrosse heads revolutionized the game of lacrosse. In comparison to the traditional single-wall heads made of wood, the molded synthetic heads imparted a lightness, maneuverability, and flexibility never-before experienced by lacrosse players. These performance advantages greatly enhanced players' skills such as throwing, catching, cradling, and scooping, and brought the sport of lacrosse to new levels of speed and excitement.
FIG. 1 illustrates a typical molded double-wall synthetic head 104 mounted on a handle 100 (dotted lines). Head 104 comprises a generally V-shaped frame having a juncture 106, sidewalls 108 and 110, a transverse wall for (“scoop”) 112 joining the sidewalls at their ends opposite juncture 106, and a stop member 114 joining sidewalls 108 and 110 at their ends nearest juncture 106. As shown, handle 2 fits into and through juncture 106, and abuts stop member 114. A screw or other fastener placed through opening 107 secures handle 102 to head 104. Sidewalls 108 and 110 have an inside face, an outside face, a bottom rail edge from which the pocket (not shown) is traditionally strung, and a top rail edge opposite the bottom rail edge. This geometry allows a ball to freely roll within the pocket along a sidewall or stop member without obstruction, from the back of the pocket to the front face of head 104.
Viewed from the exterior side (FIG. 3), the scoop 112 of the double-wall synthetic head 104 includes a peripheral side rail 127 and a base 129, as seen in FIG. 2. However, as seen in FIG. 3 the side rail 127 and base 129 are not necessarily a uniform monolithic block. To conserve weight and/or material they may be a rather complex molded framework of reinforcing, layered walls. Moreover, the shape often changes from the center of scoop 112 toward the peripheral side rails 127. For example, the cross-sectional profile of scoop 112 may change from position A- A′ to position B-B′ (FIG. 2), in this instance morphing from the centrally split ribbed cross-section shown in dotted lines in FIG. 3 (A-A′ of FIG. 2) to an airfoil shape outward along side rail 127 (toward B-B′ of FIG. 2).
FIG. 4 isolates one prior art cross-section of scoop 112 at its foremost center-point A-A′. FIG. 5 isolates the prior art cross-section of scoop 112 at peripheral center-point B-B′, which cross-section resembles a knife blade (inset at right). In both cases of FIGS. 4-5. the respective cross-sections can be characterized by a foremost point FP, a rear edge RE, a rearmost corner point (RCP), a low continuous curve—point LCP, and rear-innermost point RI. String holes intermittently penetrate the scoop 112 between the rear edge RE and low continuous curve point LCP for stringing the pocket, and the strung pocket results in looped strings S a shown in FIG. 5. If the lacrosse head of FIG. 4 is placed along the x-axis of an xyz coordinate system, one observes that at its foremost center-point A-A′ the perimeter between the foremost point FP and low continuous curve point LCP has a pronounced angular or jagged shape. This geometry is used primarily to achieve durability at a highly stressed portion of a lacrosse head, while also facilitating conventional clam shell mold manufacturing.+ However, it results in an inefficient and somewhat obstructive design for an essential lacrosse head maneuver, i.e., scooping. Scooping a lacrosse ball resembles a snow shoveling motion where the front and bottom side of the scoop 112 scrape the playing surface in an effort to entrap a ball that is resting or rolling on the playing surface. The jagged or angled geometry (FIG. 4) of the prior art scoop cross-sections makes for a less than smooth head/surface interaction, decreasing scooping efficiency. In addition, the conventional scoop cross-section is not configured to prevent exposed strings, leading to wear and tear of the exposed pocket strings S as seen in (FIG. 5). The strings S and playing surface (dotted lines) interact directly during play as seen in FIG. 5, resulting in substantial abrasion and wear. What is needed then is a more advanced central scoop cross-section that facilitates these two scoop shortcomings without compromising scoop durability.